the speaker pro tempore: the

unfinished business is the question on suspending the rules and passing h r. 2853 as amended, which the clerk will report by title. the clerk: h.r. 2853, a bill to require the purchase of domestically made flags of the united states of america for use by the federal government. the speaker pro tempore: the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill as amended? those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. the unfinished business is the question on suspending the rules and passing h.r. 4602, which the clerk will report by title. the clerk: h.r. 4602, a bill to designate the facility of the

united states postal service, low cailted at 1332 sharon coughley road in sharon center, ohio, as the emil bolas post office. the speaker pro tempore: those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the bill is passed and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. the unfinish -- unfinished business is the question on suspreending the rules and passing h.r. 5606, which the clerk will report by title. the clerk: h.r. 5606, to designate the facility of the united states postal service located at 47 south seventh street in indiana,

pennsylvania, as the james m. "jimmy" stewart post office building. the speaker pro tempore: the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill? those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. the unfinished business is the question on suspending the rules and passing h r. 5605, which the clerk will report by title. the clerk: h.r. 5605, a bill to designate the facility of the united states postal service located at 47 east fayette street in uniontown, pennsylvania, as the george c. marshall post office. the speaker pro tempore: the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill? those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the

bill is passed and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. the unfinished business is the question on suspending the rules and agreeing to house resolution 1442 which the clerk will report by title. the clerk: house resolution 1442, resolution supporting the goals and ideals of united states military history month. the speaker pro tempore: the question is, will the house suspend the rules and agree to the resolution? those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the resolution is agreed to and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. -- the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. the unfinished business is question on suspending the rules and agreeing to house resolution

1546. the clerk: house resolution 1546, resolution congratulating the washington stealth winning the national lacrosse league championship. ism the question is, will the house suspend the rules and agree to the resolution as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the resolution is agreed to and without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. the unfinished business is the question on suspending the rules and agreeing to house resolution 1479 which the clerk will report by title. the clerk: resolution supporting the united states paralympics honoring the paralympic athletes and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: the question is will the house suspend the rules and agree to the resolution.

those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the resolution is grode to and without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. the unfinished business is suspending the rules and passing h.r. 6118 which the clerk will report by title. the clerk: h.r. 6118, a bill to designate the united states post c1 designate the united states post alpha silt located at 2 massachusetts avenue noast in washington, d.c. as the dort think height post office building. the speaker pro tempore: will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed

and the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. without objection, the title is amended. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from texas rise? ms. jackson lee: i ask to address for one minute and to speak out of order. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. ms. jackson lee: thank you. tomorrow, thousands of hurricane ike survivors across the gulf region may be stopped from receiving benefits that were due because of this terrible disaster. we have been working on it as the house and the senate, the senate passed the u.c. tonight to provide an extension for those benefits. however, we have not had an opportunity to do so and many people are suffering. i hope that we'll have that occasion again and i would like to yield to the distinguished

majority leader to inquire about the needs of those hurricane ike victims across the whole gulf region as we did for katrina and rita, the opportunity to work on this matter so the benefits can be continued for the families in need. i yield to the gentleman. mr. hoyer: clearly, this is as the gentlelady points out a very serious matter of great concern and i want to say that we will join with the lady and with all of those who represent the region on both sides of the aisle to look at this matter to make sure we give it our earliest possible consideration and action. i yield back. ms. jackson lee: i thank the gentleman. this is going to be comforting news to those individuals who are still suffering and living in the backdrop of hurricane ike. with that, i encourage my colleagues to work with us and with that, mr. speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back. the unfinished business is the

question on suspending the rules and geeg to house resolution 1617 which the clerk will report by title. the clerk: house resolution 1617, resolution supporting the goals and purpose of gold star mothers day which is observed on the last day of september each year in remembrance of the supreme sacrifice by mothers who lose a son or daughter. the speaker pro tempore: will the house suspend the rules and agree to the resolution. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the resolution is goode to and without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. the unfinished business is the question on suspending the rules and agreeing to house resolution 1603 which the clerk will report by title. the clerk: house resolution 1603, resolution expressing

support for designation of september, 2010 as national craniofacial acceptance month. the speaker pro tempore: the question is, will the house suspend the rules and agree to the resolution. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the resolution is agreed to. and without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. the unfinished business is the question on suspending the rules and passing h.r. 3243 which the clerk will report by title. the clerk: h.r. 3243, a bill to amend section 554 of title 5, united states code, to provide that any hours worked by federal firefighters under a qualified trade-of-time arrangement shall be excluded for purposes of determinations relating to overtime pay. the speaker pro tempore: the question is will the house

suspend the rules and pass the bill. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed. and mokes -- and without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. the unfinished business is the question on suspending the rules and passing s. 3196 which the clerk will report by title. the clerk: senate 3196 an act to amend the presidential transition act of 2003 that certain services will be eligible to candidates before the general election. the speaker pro tempore: the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended and bill is passed and without objection, the motion to

reconsider is laid on the table. the unfinished business is question on suspending the rules and passing h.r. 758 as amended which the clerk will report by title. the clerk: h.r. 758, a bill to amend title 4 of the public health service act to provide for the establishment of pediatric research, research con sore yeah. the speaker pro tempore: the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed and without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. the chair will receive a message. the messenger: mr. speaker, a message from the senate.

the secretary: mr. speaker, i have been directed by the senate to inform the house that the senate has passed with amendments h.r. 3619, coast guard reauthorization act of 2010 in which the concurrence of the house is requested. the speaker pro tempore: the unfinished business is the question on suspending the rules and passing h.r. 2999 as amended. the clerk: union calendar number 374, h.r. 2999, a bill to amend the public health service act to enhance and increase the number of vet rinary ands trained in public health. the speaker pro tempore: the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative, without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. the unfinished business is the

question on suspending the rules and passing h.r. 53 4 which the clerk will report by title. the clerk: h.r. 5354 a bill to establish an advisory committee on gestation national diabetes to provide grants to better understand and reduce gestational diabetes and for other purposes. will the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3, the bill is passed and without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. without objection, the title is amended. the unfinished business is the question on suspending the rules and passing h.r. 2818 which the clerk will report by title. the clerk: h.r. 2818, a bill to

amend the public health service act to provide for the establishment of a drug-free workplace information clearinghouse and provide methamphetamine programs for pregnant and parenting women to prohibit methamphetamine addition and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed and without objection, the the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. the unfinished business is the question on suspending the rules and passing h.r. 1347 as amended. the clerk: h.r. 1347 a bill to amend title 3 of the public health service act to provide for the establishment and implementation of concussion

management guidelines with respect to school-aged children and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill as amended. those in favor say aye.. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended and the bill is passed and without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. without objection, the title is amended. the unfinished business is the question on suspending the rules and passing senate 3751 which the clerk will report by title. the clerk: senate 3751, an anth to amend the stem cell therapeutic and research act of 2005. the speaker pro tempore: the

question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed and without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. the unfinished business is the question on suspending the rules and passing h.r. 1032 as amended which the clerk will report by title. the clerk: union calendar 379 h.r. 1032, a bill to amend the federal food, drug and cosmetic act and the public health service act to improve the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of heart disease, stroke and other cardio vack collar diseases in women. the speaker pro tempore: the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill as amended.

those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed and without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. without objection, the title is amended. the unfinished business is the question on suspending the rules and passing h.r. 2408 which the clerk will report by title. the clerk: h.r. 2408, a bill to expand the research and awareness activities of the national institute of arthritis and muscular skelt tall and skin diseases and centers for disease control with respect to scleroderma and other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the

affirmative, the the motion to reconsider is laid on the table the unfinished business is the question on suspending the rules and passing h.r. 1320 as amended, which the clerk will report by title. the clerk: union calendar number 377, h.r. 1033, for a national bone marrow registry. the speaker pro tempore: pe the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. without objection, the title is amended.

the unfinished business is the question on suspending the rules and passing h r. 2941, as amended, which the clerk will report by title. the clerk: union calendar 375, h.r. 2941, a bill to re-authorize and enhance johanna's law to enhance knowledge and awareness with respect to gynecologic cancers. the speaker pro tempore: the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill as amended? those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. the unfin in-- unfinished bids is on suspending the rules and passing h r. 5462 as amended which the clerk will report by

title. the clerk: union calendar 382, h.r. 5462, a bill to authorize the secretary of health and human services acting through the director of the centers for disease control and prevention to establish and implement a birth defects prevention risk reduction and public awareness program. the speaker pro tempore: the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill as amended? those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. without objection, the title amended. the unfinished business is the question on suspending the rules and passing h r. 1210 as amended, which the clerk will report by title. the clerk: union calendar number 378, h r. 1210, a bill

to amend the public health service act to provide for arthritis research and public health and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. the gentleman will suspend.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from missouri is recognized. >> mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to take from the speaker's table the senate bill s. 1510 with the senate amendment to the house amendment thereto and consent in the senate amendment to the house amendment. the speaker pro tempore: is there objection to the gentleman's request? the clerk will report the title of the bill and the proposed

amendment. the clerk: senate 1510, an act to transfer statutory entitlements to pay and hours of work authorized by the district of columbia code for current members of the united states secret service uniform division from the district of columbia code to the united states code. senate amendment to house amendments. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the reading is dispensed with. is there objection to the original request of the gentleman from missouri? without objection, the request is agreed to and the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. >> mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from missouri. mr. clay: i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the measure just considered. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. clay: thank you.

the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from minnesota rise? >> mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to take from the speaker's table h.r. 3619 with the senate amendments to the house amendments to the senate amendment thereto and ask for its immediate consideration in the house. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill and the proposed amendments. the clerk: h.r. 3619, an act to authorize appropriations for the coast guard for fiscal year 2010 and for other purposes. senate amendments to house amendment to senate amendment. the speaker pro tempore: is there objection? >> mr. speaker, i reserve the right to object. i will not object but --

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized under his reservation. >> i yield to the gentleman. mr. oberstar: i thank the gentleman for yielding and compliment the gentleman from alaska for his advocacy for decades of the united states coast guard. by unanimous consent request to agree to this corrects two errors in drafting of the coast guard authorization act of 2010 which passed the house last night on a voice vote. if the gentleman will allow, i will yield to congressman cummings to explain the substance. mr. cummings: the senate judiciary committee raised concerns about the drafting section of 917 which enhanced criminal penalties for individuals who failed to follow coast guard orders to

stop their bolt when they are smuggling people into the united states or when the incident results in a death, an attempt to kill or a kidnapping. the senate amendment clarifies those penalties and corrects cross are references in the original bill. the order of concern raised by the senate judiciary committee is if the coast guard uses the subpoena authority in this act without coordinating that action with the attorney general, it would compromise a criminal investigation. the senate amendment addresses that concern by requiring the coast guard to coordinate its subpoenas under this act with the attorney general. i yield back. mr. oberstar: -- mr. young: i want to compliment the gentleman for this and i

withdraw my reservation. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman withdraws his reservation. the request is agreed to and the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. mr. oberstar: i ask unanimous consent that the committee on natural resources be discharged from further consideration of s. 3802 and ask for its immediate consideration in the house. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: senate 3802, an act to designate a mountain and ice field in the state of alaska as the mount stevens and ted stevens ice field respectively. the speaker pro tempore: is there objection? mr. young: reserving the right to object, i shall not object. i want to thank the gentleman for bringing this legislation up.

this is recognition of senator ted stevens who yesterday was laid to rest in arlington cemetery for his service to the united states of america in the army air force at that time, flying for the flying tigers, receiving the distinguished flying cross, serving in the senate for 40 years and serving his state and nation with great honor. this is a small tribute to his service to the great state of alaska, by naming a mountain and a glacier field after ted stevens and the great efforts he did for the great state of alaska. it's an honor to have this done tonight, i thank the gentleman for bringing this legislation up, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman withdraws his reservation. without objection, the bill is read a third time and passed and the motion to reconsider is laid on the table.

the chair will entertain requests for one-minute speeches. for what purpose does the gentleman from new york rise? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and are revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. >> i rise to express my support for the macfee -- the j.c.c. macfee games, an event where thousands of jewish teens meet and compete and learn the value of sportsesmanship and camaraderie. it is also the anniversary of the massacre at the munich games when at the olympics in 1978, 11 member os of the

olympic team from israel were taken hostage and ultimately killed. it's important to note 38 years after the munich massacre, the olympics committee has yet to memorialize these individuals with a moment of violence at the games. i will introduce a resolution to encourage the national olympics committee to hold a moment of silence and to urge that all future a limpics honor the munich 11. i would like to con garage late the city in new york where the y.c.c. macfee games will be held. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania rise? >> i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend -- address the house for one minute and revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. thompson: i rise today to

honor a man who has given 33 years of his life to the recreation and parks society. robert griffin is the president of the organization that provides parks and recreation to the people of pennsylvania. during his tenure he was instrumental in the passage of the statewide going greener funding programs an worked on other funding programs for parks, recreation through the coalition. he headed up the governor's conference on parks and low pressure and assisted in the comprehensive recreation plan through the state recreation park advise recommittee and the citizens recreation advisory council. he served as commanding officer for six different units in the

army. the state and citizens will miss his leadership and stewardship of her parks and he deserves our thanks and commendation. i yield back.dation and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from wyoming rise? loom loom request unanimous consent to address the -- mrs. lummis: request unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. >> i rise to honor the athletic hall of fame. they include skiers who is also recognized for his accomplishments in track and field along with a resident of casper, wyoming. a wrestler is inducted along football players bob jacobs and chuck lampson of ames, iowa.

and the football team that won the western athletic conference title and finished with a 10-1 record by beating florida state 28-20 in the sun bowl. i extend my congratulations to all the student athletes voted into the university of wyoming hall of fame class of 2010 on their outstanding accomplishments and their inspiration to wyoming's community of fans. powder river, letter buck and co-pokes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman's time has expired. for what purpose does gentleman rise? >> address the house for one minute. mr. gohmert: thank you, mr. speaker. well, we were assured of a number of things when this congress started.

for one thing, the swamp was going to be drained. we were told that. there have been a lot of allegations. there has been no drank of anything. there has been no draining. we were told this would be the most open congress in history and yet, instead, the exact opposite. for the first time in the history of the united states congress, we have gone right up and as i understand, we aren't going to be back in session before this election, we will have gone through this entire congress without having a single open rule for a vote. where anybody can make any amendments. you know, the old saying is democracy ensures that people that govern no better than they deserve. the people deserve better. they deserve bipartisan. when chairman dingell wanted to make a bipartisan approach to a

bill, he was eliminated. we deserve better and may god grant we get it. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from new york. >> mr. speaker, pursuant to house concurrent resolution 321, 111th congress, i move that the house do now adjourn. the speaker pro tempore: the question is on the motion to adjourn. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes have it. the motion is agreed to. accordingly, pursuant to house concurrent resolution 321, 111th congress, the house stands adjourned until 2:00 p.m. on >> members will be returning home to campaign and will not be in session until after the

election. the senate also passed the spending bill wednesday and it now goes to the president to be signed. members approved a bill to fund health care and benefits for 9/11 first responders. live coverage of the house here on c-span. coming up next, ben nelson talks about tax policy. president obama visits iowa. then the overside of government spending. you are watching c-span. ben nelson spoke out against letting any of the bush era tax cuts expire. he was the main speaker at this event hosted by the heritage foundation. this is 35 minutes.

>> questions can be mailed to us. our recording group will be very appreciative. hosting our discussion is william beach. he is our chief numbers cruncher.

he oversees the original statistical research on taxes, social security, crime, trade, and other issues. he has served in state government as well as think tanks in the area. please join me in welcoming bill beach. >> why we should not raise taxes. we will go through many aspects of the current debate.

i am pleased that ben nelson is joining us to talk about the tax situation we are facing. i am sure everyone knows senator nelson but i would like to give a formal introduction. he was elected to represent nebraska in the u.s. senate in the year 2000. since arriving in the senate in 2001, the nebraska democrat has played a role in passing major tax reductions including the tax cuts which are basically the subject matter of the meeting. this meeting, he announced that he would support continuing current tax rates for all

taxpayers. he is a member of the gang of 14. and he is a bipartisan player. in 2008, he joined a group aimed at overcoming a deadlock in the senate and energy legislation. we are very grateful. we will take some questions. please join me in welcoming a senator ben nelson to the podium. [applause] >> good morning and thank you for that introduction.

before i began i think it is a matter of disclosure that i should tell you the story of right after i had been elected governor and going out to the middle part of the state. if a dim-witted parents can have a brilliant children, there is hope for everyone in this world. i would like to talk to about the economy.

two great philosophers come to mind. it was ben franklin is said nothing can be certain except death and taxes. it was will rogers to amended that is said that the only difference between death and taxes is that death doesn't get worse every time congress meets. for many people, that is sadly true. i would like to hear your thoughts and your questions. more about what congress should do. the country he is in better shape than it was two years ago. in the fall of 2008, we seem to be on the edge of a cliff and about to plunge into a major economic collapse. in a few short months, the

financial disease spread and ruined retirement and drove thousands of people out of their homes, destroyed their small businesses, through more than 5 million americans at their jobs and triggered a global economic crisis. hundreds of people in my state lost jobs even though we suffered less than most. we are in better shape but this is not to say that we are in good shape. unemployment was close to 10%. existing and new home sales remained sluggish and economic growth was slow. many americans are frustrated by the lack of jobs. this week, consumer confidence fell more than expected. things could be worse. had it not been for president bush's intervention to stabilize the financial sector and president obama's injection of roughly 800 billion into the

economy, we could be in another great depression with the war were then the recession that. it has been contended by economists that without those actions, gdp would be 11.5% lower and 8.5 million more americans would be out of a job. the nation without experiencing deflation that could spiral down to a depression. of course, making a case that things would have been worse cannot be proven. some people would dispute that government action can make things better in this case or in almost any case. so, what do we do now to get our economy growing stronger and

creating more jobs? congress has enacted several bills with mixed reviews from members on one side of the aisle or the other and with too little bipartisanship. there will be little of a 24 a bipartisan bill in the future. so far, so they had been done again. as you all know, a series of tax cuts enacted during the bush administration are set to expire at the end of the year. i played a role in both the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts as one of very few to mcgrath to both negotiated and worked with them. we had a budget surplus in 2001. surplus as far as the eye could see. it made good sense to let americans keep more of their money and not continuing it to washington.

keeping money in taxpayers' hands, it makes sense. today it would be moved in the wrong direction. many people feel uncertain about the future. nebraska business owners do as well. the possibility of tax increases are one of the reasons why people are holding on to cash and has hinted to invest in new production, equipment, employes -- and are hesitant to invest in new production, and equipment, and the employees. in my state, the average foundation -- family would pay $5,000 in tax. if they were extended, they

would pay $6,000 less. there are many ways that a family could use the money. these tax cuts to encourage work, savings, and investing. they help families raise children, they involve married tax payers. they encourage small businesses to expand workers and create products consumers demand. just as i worked with president bush on the 2001 and 2003 tax cut, i have worked with president obama on another set of tax cut that are often overlooked. the recovery act of 2009 is often maligned as excessive government spending. how many here know that a full

1/3 of the bill and nearly $300 billion bid provided tax relief. fully 1/3 of this was a tax cut and not just spending? it is interesting that when one side of the political aisle supplies and tax cuts, they tell them as reducing the burden. when the other side tells them, they are labeled as deficit spending. think about that. to me, a tax cut is a tax cut. they say people money, they are used to promote economic activity from the ground up. the bush tax cuts and the obama tax cuts are both, tax cuts. here are a couple of examples of how the recovery act tax cuts are doing that in the state of nebraska. the making work pay tax cut enabled the people of nebraska to save $9 million each week in

2009. that total they savings of more than 336 million last year and millions more this year. also, laden newspaper reported that nebraska ranks fourth among the states for seeking tax credits under the first-time home buyers tax credit. this saved nebraskan is $155.8 million for january 2009. millions of more savings that have help people buy homes. with the savings, we have invested money back into our state's economy and likely contributed to be in the unemployment quite low. the bottom line is this -- government should keep taxes as low as possible. extending all of the expiring tax cuts, this would raise the

deficit? just like the recovery act package in 2009, it is imperative that we take action to help the economy. i hate deficit spending. as governor i could not and would not deficit spend but some matters are so urgent that they cannot wait. such was the case with the recovery act and i think the same holds true with the tax cuts. our economy has not bounced back and raising taxes to fund washington spending surely one of the recovery. in fact, it could do just the opposite. raising taxes would reward washington four years of fiscally unhealthy actions and this has not gotten spending under control. this is like handing a chocolate cake to someone who has overeaten. let's look at the facts --

since at least 1990, federal spending has increased every year except one, 1993. in 1990, spending was two trillion dollars. this year, it is about 3.6 trillion. in my view, congress needs to work together, democrats and republicans, and independence, and find ways to bridge the partisan divide that seems so why it today. if we can start with a goal of holding the line or even reducing government spending, that is the right thing to do. in the senate, i sit on the appropriations committee. for the last two years, i have been chairman of the legislative branch subcommittee. this year, we're going further in holding spending flat. the 2011 legislative branch bill represents a zero increase but one that we achieve with

bipartisan cooperation on our committee. by holding the line on spending, i hope that we are setting an example to all federal agencies. nebraskan said american's overall would welcome seeing congress work together on spending restraint. we need that now more than ever to bring down the deficit. the deficit has been on a steady upward trajectory. the stands at 1.4 trillion dollars for the second year in a row. the federal debt stands at more than 13 trillion. that is unsustainable and a dangerous drag on our economic future. this is also a threat to our liberty. not that long ago, the joint chiefs of staff chairman declared that the top threat to america's national security is in north korea, iran, or terrorism, he said "the most

significant threat to financial security is the debt. the debt is so high that paying the interest on it competes for resources needed for national defense and other important items as well. it is estimated that by 2012, american taxpayers will pay $600 billion just in interest payments on the debt. that is about what we spend annually on our national defense. at roland makes a point that we must work to reduce that threat. each of these issues are tied together and will have an impact on our economic future. this week, i have written to president obama and encouraged him to call on congressional leaders and others to join him

in a bipartisan summit right after the elections and find ways to work cooperatively on spending, taxes, and deficit reduction. i suggested holding a private discussion free of posturing and playing for the cameras. perhaps at camp david. if this can lead to the camp david accords, why not the camp david agreement? such a discussion on how to collaborate rather than compete could foster an open exchange of ideas on fiscal issues in in advance of the bipartisan commission report which is expected in december. regardless of the outcome, this discussion must occur. this must occur to break down barriers that arm curtailing spending -- break down the

barriers. for the good of the nation that we love and for the freedoms that we all cherish, i hope that this camp david fiscal summit comes to pass and can be a start for a new way forward. thank you all for inviting me here today. [applause] >> we will take some questions now with your permission. we have several sources of questions. if you don't ask the first question, you can make it so we have time to think. we have a lot of people watching on the internet. who would like to ask the senator the first question?

if congress extends the 2000 tax relief, will they take that opportunity to launch into fundamental tax reform? >> that depends. one person's tax reform is another person's nightmare. clearly we need to address tax reform and certain areas to promote longer investments. long-term investment defined as 12 months. this might work for the tax code but this is certainly not what we want. we want people to invest in their businesses, three or four or five years or longer amounts of time. we need to address what the capital gains rate is and whether this has started at the

present level, slightly higher, or saving this over 8 certain amount of time. i think we need to address that. we need to ask the question, what do i do to stimulate the economy? what will i do to revenue reduction and deficit increases? with a balance out? will we end up with more people working. will be able to come out of the economic slump faster if we make that kind of adjustment. no matter what we have done, we have not seen -- it depends on who you ask, whether we are out of the recession, whether we are about to get out of it. if we don't find a way to have more economic growth, we will not get job growth. businesses that are stagnating at the present time are not hiring more people.

stagnation will result in a reduction and the effectiveness of businesses and the country. >> we have a microphone and so when i point to someone, if he will wait for the microphone, wait for the internet service. >> you speak to a great sense about bipartisanship. there are the mutual problems that each partner has. would you share your thoughts on what are the specific arguments that you think republicans need to draw for get over and what are the specific arguments that you believe democrats need to drop and get over? >> first of all, i believed that the willingness to go

across the aisle have to be there. a willingness to do this, there will not be any dropping of the arguments. it seems to me that linking them together, we had a common cause which was to get judicial nominees and of or down vote. that is what we agreed upon. this was limited this was isolated very carefully to be limited because we knew that we could agree. we head of the willingness to come together to sit at a different negotiating sessions without staff and go through these things with one another. i don't know that there are certain arguments right now that

each side is making to be dropped until there is a willingness to come together. that willingness i think it'd be harder from the standpoint right now from both sides and particularly from my friends on the other side of the aisle. they have now a tea party opponent or are about to get one the. when you look at what happened in utah, you had the senator attacked in part because he signed on to a bill on health care with a democrat from oregon. you go down the list of those who did not fare very well in the primaries, whether this is delaware or anywhere, it seemed to be people who could find ways to reach an accord.

the first up is a willingness to take that risk. -- the first step is a willingness to make that risk. without the willingness, nothing will happen. >> good morning, senator. thank you for being here. there is a lot of talk about that there will be some boats to appeal health care. would you be willing to vote for this? >> first of all, i would not support a full repeal of the health care reform bill. keep in mind that the legislation not only was controversial but what was

finally enacted was totally different than the house version and modified to make certain that there was not a public option which in my mind was the forerunner to a single payer, government-run plan. the bill is not perfect, there are going to be intestine's made to it. one area that i hope that we can focus on is how we can find more ways to reduce the growing cost of health care. doing nothing is not an option. were appealing this health care bill without another option would be a cruel hoax to the american people who are looking right now and seeing the cost of health care probably doubling in seven years.

in the absence of a full-fledged worked held alternative, i cannot see repealing what we have. adjusting, making improvements, absolutely, but not a fool repealed. -- but not a full repeal. >> how do we balance the u.s. -- policy with u.s. fiscal policy? some are calling this a quantitative easing. i am curious about your opinion on the fed able to print money. is this putting our economy on the global level of risk? >> i have resisted any

temptation to try to politicized -- tried to peddle -- tried to politicize the fed. i think it is important. i am concerned about policies that they have undertaken. i am also aware that there is a more broad approach. i am more concerned about the yuan in china and that monetary policy and to the imbalance of trade where we tend to worry about exporting jobs or losing jobs, which is the same. import products from a country that is underpriced by comparison because the tax structure is lower.

their currency is out of whack compared to the dollar. i would like to have less focus more on getting that through control rather than worrying about the fed. i a.m. favoring an audit of the fed but i think that the audit, many of those would like to audit the practices and criticize the practices which would only politicize the said. you have a financial audit to declare what is happening. >> if you are doing the agenda for summing up sections, what would be the items and what order would you put them on?

>> what i would do is focus on how we get the tax cuts done. we need certainty and clarity in this economy for our businesses and for our people. we need to get that done. i would like to get us away from the practice of just kicking the can down the road. in terms of the tax cut and the deficit, we probably don't have the freedom and flexibility to extend them permanently, whatever this means in washington, d.c. or until the congress decides to do something. i think other practices of kicking the can down the road are not helping us get clarity and certainty for businesses and

for people. i was talking to a physician the other day in terms of the medicare reimbursement rate and he said, what will happen. i said, my experience is all we do is kick the can down the road. we are finding a better way to compensate and we just keep doing this. he said, next time comes to kicking the can down the road, remember, i am the can't. -- i am the can. >> there's a question in the corner. >> i wanted to ask you about the estate tax. that is one of the taxes set to go to 55% and in your state, this has a particular resonance for your constituents.

>> that is one of the things that have to be done in the lame duck. i hope that we can truly have the lame duck and if it does not become a dead duck or a daffy duck. if that is the case, we can deal with extending the tax cuts. that is the negotiation and what we can do. this should be sufficient so this is not just until after the first of the year. we need to have this longer than that. the estate tax does have to be fixed. it is hard to predict what would happen but i can say that somewhere between what the house has done and what the senate has done, 5 million per spouse exemption, we drop the top rate down from 35% to 45%.

i would hope that we could go that way. the inconvenient truth is that it adds to the deficit. this is a matter of fairness and i think there is certainty for tax planning and for state planning. i think fit there have been 3 billion years who died this year without a tax. my sense is that each one was so plan, the federal government would not have gotten a dime. they did not choose this year, that was just a joke. people were passing around a few years ago that this is the year that you have to do it. >> we need to get that done as well. those things would be clearly on the agenda to get taken care of. >> i would like to recognize

j.d. foster. >> the tax relief is many things but one thing, the expiration is not a surprise. >> that's right, we have known about this for 10 years. >> this congress has been in session since the beginning of 2009. they got all the way through 2009 down through 2010. the ways and means committee has done nothing, the senate has done nothing. they appear likely to do nothing before the election. that being the case, what are the circumstances that you would be able to offer for us to understand how this bill that has been ignored thus far might

actually get addressed so that the lame duck does not become a dead duck. >> i might borrow that. >> the answer that i would gives is unfortunately, congress has become crisis-driven. until there is a crisis, you cannot get the parties to talk to one another civilly not alone mutually to come up with a solution. that is the challenge that is there. this is like a pro basketball game. most of this is played in the last few minutes. tune in in the last few minutes. this is back and forth and back and forth. this has been back-and-forth. now the deadline is to drive the decision. i used to respect the fact that

the bush administration always got its supplementals through right before a break for congress. when the members of congress were smelling jet fuel, they knew that they could get something done at that time but they could not get this done before. if nothing is absolutely new, this is perhaps this new on this issue. yes, people have been talking about it but the lame duck will be the last two minutes of the game to get something done. >> thank you, everyone. [applause] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010] >> president obama visits the morning, iowa. then new sanctions on iran. later, a house armed services committee looks at proposed cuts in the pentagon budget.

>> on "washington journal," kevin brady will talk about taxes. but kramer with the results of a new survey. then a look at new rules covering debt settlement companies. "washington journal, as" is live beginning at 7:00 a.m. eastern on c-span. >> washington has one of the more difficult lives of all times. she was a very self-centered woman. you'd think that she would have all kinds of expressions of her taking pride. >> the best of two programs with the author ron chernow on

his soon-to-be released biography of our first president. president obama's tax-cut policies were criticized by various committee members during at backyard conversation in the morning, iowa. education policy was discussed as well as health care reform and the war in afghanistan. this is one hour and 15 minutes. [applause]

>> i hope you don't mind, i will shake everyone's hand. everyone had a seat. i will catch up with you. why don't we get started and i

will catch the other half on the way out. >> thank you so much for being here. and first of all, i just want to thank jeff and sandy and tristan and skyelar for letting us use their backyard. so please give them a big round of applause. and since we are here, i should just say, go bulldogs. i know how to work a crowd. i want to make sure that everybody also acknowledges your outstanding governor, chet culver, who's here. the mayor of des moines, frank cownie, who is here. and state representative janet petersen is here. all of whom are doing great work, and i had a chance to work with and get to know when i

spent a few months here in iowa a couple years ago. it is wonderful to be back, and i thank all of you for coming. i am not going to give a long speech on the front end here. what i really want to do is hear from you. so what i'm going to do is just speak a little bit at the front end about where i think the country is at, how we move forward. it's relevant because there is an election coming up, although i'm going to try to avoid making just a straight political speech here. when i started running for president back in 2008 -- 2007, 2008 -- the reason i was willing to go into the race, even though michelle was not crazy about politics and i had two young daughters who are the center of my world and i was going to be away from for quite a bit, was a feeling that the country was at a crossroads, that we had some fundamental decisions to make that we had been putting off for decades.

and there are a whole host of individual issues -- education and energy and what we do in terms of our foreign policy -- a whole bunch of discrete issues that concern me. what concerned me most i think was the nature of our economy and how the american dream seemed as if it was slipping away for too many people. from 2001 to 2009, the average wage of middle-class families in america actually declined by 5%.

job growth was slower during that period than at any time since world war ii, at the same time as the costs of everything from health care to college tuition were skyrocketing. and so what you had was a situation in which the very top was getting very wealthy, but the middle class, which is the beating heart of our economy, and those aspiring to get into the middle class, were finding it harder and harder to get ahead. and there were a range of reasons for that, but a lot of it had to do with the set of policies that had been put in place, whose basic premise was that if we cut taxes, especially for millionaires and billionaires, and if we cut back on rules and regulations for how our industries and companies operate, and then we cut everybody loose to sort of do -- to fend for themselves, that somehow the economy would automatically grow.

and it didn't work. the other thing that was happening was that we were becoming less competitive internationally, so manufacturing jobs were moving overseas, you saw countries like china and india and brazil investing heavily in their education systems and in infrastructure. and where we used to be ranked number one, for example, in the proportion of college graduates, we now rank number 12. where we used to have the best public school system in the world, now our kids rank 21st in science and 25th in math. and so slowly all the things that had made us the most productive country on earth were starting to slip away. and we were losing that competitive position. so what i said was i'm going to run for president because there are some long-term things that we can do that will start growing our economy from the bottom up, make sure that the middle class is expanding, make sure that innovation and entrepreneurship is taking place in this country and not

someplace else, that we can start rebuilding our economy so that it works for everybody. and that was really the platform that i ran on in 2008. and that meant that we had to have a school system that was serious about training our young people for the jobs of the future, which wasn't just a function of more money, by the way -- it also meant reforming our school system so that it worked better. it meant that we made sure that every young person who worked hard and took responsibility was able to afford to go to college without accumulating some huge mountain of debt.

it meant that we put much more emphasis on math and science and how we could develop new technologies in our economy and innovation. it meant that we started investing more in research and development. we used to typically invest about 3% of our gross domestic product in research and development. that started slipping. i said we had to get it back up. it meant that we invested in infrastructure that would lay the groundwork for a 21st century economy -- not just roads and bridges but also broadband lines and a smart electric grid that could make us more energy efficient. it meant that we had a new energy policy that would focus on clean energy -- solar and wind and biodiesel. and it meant we had to fix our health care system, which was a huge drag on businesses and families and the federal government. it meant that we had to also get control of our spending and align what we take in and how much we spend at the federal government level so that it was sustainable. now, that was just on domestic policy.

we had a whole bunch of things we had to do on foreign policy, too. it turns out that we were in more trouble than we had even imagined in 2008, so that by the time i was sworn in, in january of 2009, a lot of these economic policies had culminated in the worst financial crisis since the great depression. and i don't need to tell you how devastating that's been for people all across the country and here in iowa. in the six months before i was sworn in, we lost 4 million jobs. the month i was sworn in, we lost 750,000 jobs, the month after that, 600,000, the month after that, 600,000. so we had already lost most of the 8 million jobs that we were going to end up losing in this recession before any of my economic policies even had a chance to take effect.

and the financial system was on the verge of meltdown, so that people couldn't even get loans to buy a car. i mean, credit was just shut down. so we had to take a number of emergency measures. we stepped in and we stopped the bleeding. now the economy is growing again. we've had private sector job growth for the last eight months. credit is now flowing again, although small businesses are still having a tough time getting credit and so we've been focused -- we signed a bill actually this week to help small businesses get credit and cut some of their taxes. and so i'm very proud of the fact that we've been able to prevent the economy from going into a second depression, but not only do we have a big hole that we've got to climb ourselves out of -- we still have those 8 million jobs that were lost, and that's a lot of jobs to make up -- the economy is still not growing as fast as it needs to.

a lot of small businesses are still struggling. a lot of large businesses are just sitting on a lot of cash because they're still uncertain about whether to invest in the future. but all those other problems that we had, those didn't go away, the foundational problems, the structural problems in the economy that had led us to slip relative to other countries. so we've had a real challenge over the last couple of years of dealing with a crisis but not taking our eye off the ball in terms of some of the policies that we've got to change. and that's why financial reform was so important, so we never have to engage in taxpayer- funded bailouts again. that's why health reform was so important because we had the opportunity not only to help ordinary folks have a better handle on their health care costs, but also that over time, we could make the health care system as a whole more efficient and effective.

that's why we've put so much emphasis on education reform. and this is one area where i think that we've actually gotten some compliments from republicans because we're -- we are not taking an ideological approach. we're saying how do we create more accountability in the system, how do we encourage better teachers in the classroom, how do we break through some of the bureaucracy to make sure our kids are learning what they need to learn. this is all by way of saying that the challenges the economy faces are still great, and they're not going to go away tomorrow or the next day. but we're on the right path, we're on the right track, as long as we stay focused on two things-- number one, that our economy only works when folks who are working hard, middle- class families, ordinary folks have opportunity so that if they're doing the right thing, they're going to be able to support a family, they're going to be able to send their kids to a good school and send them to college, they're going to be able to retire with some dignity and respect, they're going to be able to afford

health care and not go bankrupt when they get sick. that has to be the orientation. and everything we think about in terms of economic policy is how do we make sure that if people are out here working hard and taking responsibility for themselves and their families, that they are rewarded. that's the essence of the american dream. and the second thing that we've got to keep in mind is that we've got to make tough choices if we're going to solve some of these long-term problems that we've been putting off. t ac

really speak honestly to the american people about how we're going to get this country on track over the long term. and i just want to use as an example the proposal that they put forward with respect to tax policy. they want to borrow $700 billion to provide tax cuts for the top 2% of americans, people making more than $250,000 a year. it would mean an average of a $100,000 check to millionaires and billionaires. that's $700 billion we don't

have, so we'd either have to borrow it, which would add to our deficit, or we'd have to cut -- just to give you an example, about 20% of the amount of money that we spend on education. we'd have to cut investments we've made in clean energy. we'd have to cut investments we've made in head start. we'd have to cut improvements in terms of student loans for kids going to college that would affect about 8 million kids. so that's an example of where, you've got a choice to make. you can't say you want to balance the budget, deal with our deficit, invest in our kids, and have a $700 billion tax cut that affects only 2% of the population. you just can't do it. and so i hope that as you go

forward, not just over the next six weeks before the election but over the next two years or next six years or next 10 years, as you're examining what's taking place in washington, that you just keep in mind that we're not going to be able to solve our big problems unless we honestly address them. and it means that we've got to make choices and we've got to decide what's important. and if we think our kids are important and the next generation is important, then we've got to act like it. we can't pretend that there are shortcuts or that we can cut our taxes, completely have all the benefits that we want, and balance the budget, and not make any tough choices. that's i think more than anything the message that i want to be communicating to the american people in the months and years ahead. anyway, with that, i just want to open it up. i know that there are microphones somewhere in the audience. audience.